Protector valve



Nov. 24, 1953 MaODQNALD 2,660,189

PROTECTOR VALVE Fil ed Sept. 28. 1948 'IIIIIIIIIA l/ v VEN TOR BERNARD MAC-DONALD Arron/v55- Patented Nov. 24, 1953 mouse rrto'rne'ron VALVE Bernard MacDonald, New Nova Scgtja gli pli a iibh September 28, iea-S iclc- Glaims priority, application Canada August 14,.194fi' 1 Claim 1 invention is concerned with-an improved va1ve assembly "and in particular with an 1m: proved; control valve assembly for incorporation in a vacuum line capable of. moving liquids.

The object o'f'thi's inventionis to provide a self: contained unit which may be connected between a vacuum creating equipment such as a vacuum pump or the manifold. of an internalcombustion engine, and the body of liquid to be acted upon by the vacuum. This novel unit contains means to shut on the vacuum when the container to be evacuated has filled with a liquid such as water, and in addition, means for maintaining the vacwhen the vacuum creating: equipment is either "stopped or between the pulsating strokes of the vacuum creating equipment. Means may also be conveniently incorporated to give a warning signal when rising liquid causes the closing off of the vacuum line. The unit may be designed to be adaptable to a wide variety of vacuum creating equipment and used for a variety of purposes.

The invention offers advantages over previous devices or a similar nature in that t provides a compact unit which closes of!v the connection betweenfthe tank or source of liquid and the vacuum creating equipment before liquid can enter the latter, thus insuring against possible breakdowns of the equipment in times of emergency, for example in fire fighting, when the unit may be used to connect the manifold of a truck or car to a tank which in turn is connected to a source of water such as a river or lake. This feature also prevents damage to the vacuum creating q ipm nt, as a y yp s "or e uip n r xtremely vulnerable to liquid entering via the vacuum line. v

The unit also provides means for holding the vacuum, an advantage which, to the knowledge of the inventor, no other similar unit offers, and yet it will frequently prove important as the majority of vacuum creating equipment, particularly when old and worn, suffers from a certain amount of leakage. Thus power is ordinarily wasted as it is necessary to run the equipment continuously to maintain the vacuum, and in addition there is the danger that the vacuum already created will be lost if the equipment fails during an emergency. Another application of this feature is the use of one vacuum creating unit to evacuate a succession of tanks, the vacuum in each being maintained by the unit which forms the subject matter of this invention. In certain types of evacuating equipment, there is a certain back for holding the vacuum also operates to prevent th s pre sure ac ing up n the evacu te an: 9; Pin

The, ec ves de cr b bov are a ccm rli hed brmeah ,ci a dia hr m with c n ral air a age o assa which m y be 015. iii to ive a s i e sea a ain t va uat n 10m either; direction by means of valves operating unde he fluence i bu y n d v e. 7 The apparatus constituting, the present invention w l be cribed i greater d a l with. e s stan e f t cc mpa y g d scr ption nd with referencefto, the, attached diagrams.

ure 1 is an elevat n v ew n, s c io .1 the rr ierred embodimen o he invent o F g r 2 i a e evatio ie of a p io of Figure l on an enlarged scale.

In Figure 1, an embodiment of the invention is disclosed wherein the reference numeral IQ is a tubular shaped member which forms the outs e ontainer o the nit- Th u p nd s pa l closed y a hat p e 11, a centr l ning being left for the insertion of a street L l2 or equivale t secti of ipin whi h n g s by mea of a crew h ea a b sh 13 at ched to the plate I l. The lower opening is also restricted by a flat plate 1.4 with a central aperture. The lower end of the unit fits into a rubber adapter [5 which is cone-shaped and has a hollow axi which corresponds with the above mentioned central aperture. A screen It is positioned with in the un t s as t o er h lowe c nt pe HIPS.

A, rigid diaphra m ll separates the unit into a lower and u e c amber a d f rm an a tie s al. xce for a numbe o ho cs- Th holes rf rm the inacti of al o n ert ca red It to pass through the centre of the diaphragm and permitting the passage 'o'i air from one chamber to the other. Thus a tightly fitting central opening may be used and additional holes provided adjacent to the central opening. The

vertical rod 18 is further supported by a web I9 which allows the free passage of air and the sole function of which is to support the rod l8. A fiat disc or valve 20 is rigidly attached to the rod it above the diaphragm H. A rubber gasket is attached to the under surface of the disc 20 to enable an air-tight seal to be made with the diaphragm H, or alternatively the gasket may be attached to the upper surface of the diaphragm I! to form a valve seat for the disc 20. Similarly a flat disc or valve 2| is rigidly attached to the rod I8 below the diaphragm I 1 with an intermediate rubber gasket attached either to the disc 2| or the lower surface of the diaphragm IT. The

3 \1 discs 20 and 2| are spaced sufiiciently far apart to allow vertical movement of the central rod 18.

At the lower end of the rod I8 is rigidly attached a float '22 which is centrally suspended in the lower chamber by means of the rod l8, suflicient space being allowed between the float 22 and the inner wall of the tubular container to permit the free passage of air, and between the float 22 and the plate I4 for the vertical movement of the rod and float and for the free passage of air, and a space is allowed between the top of the float and the lower disc 2| to prevent liquid surrounding the float from splashing into the upper chamber above the diaphragm H.

The operation of the embodiment of the invention described above is as follows:

Vacuum creating equipment is attached to the I claim:

An apparatus for regulating the connection between evacuating equipment and a space to be evacuated comprising a hollow cylindrical member the ends of which are partially closed by plates welded or otherwise secured thereto, each plate having a central aperture, the said aperture in one of said plates being connected by means of a pipe to the said evacuating equipevacuated, the interior of said hollow cylindrical street L H2 or other connection. This draws air from the tank or pipe to be evacuated through the central hereof the rubber adapter 15 and through the central hole in the bottom plate 14 and the screen it. The air passes between the float 22 and the inner side walls of the main container 10. When no liquid has entered the unit to raise the float 22 the air will then pass through the space between the valve 2% and the diaphragm l1 and then through the holes in the above mentioned diaphragm forcing the valve upwards and with it the central rod 13, the float 22 and the other valve 2!. Since only a small lift will be'required to allow air to escape between the valve 20 and the diaphragm 11 into the upper chamber, the space between the valve 2| and the diaphragm I"! will only be partially closed. The air. then passes freely past the web 19 and out through the street L 52 to the evacuating equipment.

When the vacuum creating equipment is closed off or breaks down or there is back pressure from it, the valve 20 seats against the diaphragm ll. A positive seal being maintained by the combined eifect of the weight of the float, rod and discs and the vacuum which has already been created in the lower chamber, thus loss of vacuum is prevented.

The lower valve 2| operates to give a positive sealing action under different circumstances, namely when the liquid enters the lower chamber from the tank or pipe being evacuated. In this case the rising liquid forces the float 22 upwards and the valve 2! seats against the diaphragm H. Further air and any liquid is thus prevented from entering the upper chamber by the positive sealing action maintained by the combined effect of the hydraulic lift of the float and the vacuum in the upper chamber exerted by the evacuating equipment.

member being divided unequally into an upper and a lower chamber by a circular plate arranged at right angles to the axis of the cylinder and being hermetically sealed to the cylinder walls along its circumference, said plate having a central aperture and a plurality of secondary apertures spaced about and close to said central aperture to provide a means of communication between the said two chambers, a second circular plate spaced from said first plate andilying in the upper chamber having a central aperture aligned with the central aperture in said first mentioned plate and a plurality of further apertures to provide unrestricted passage of fluid therethrough, a float in said lower chamber having a rod extending from it and passing through the central apertures of both said'plates, a disc secured to said shaft at right angles to the axis of said shaft, said disc being of a diameter sufficiently great to cover said secondary apertures when lying on said first circular plate, a similar disc secured to said shaft below said first circular plate and spaced therefrom, all of said above mentioned parts being inaccessible from the exterior of the chamber and incapable of being acted upon by an exterior force.

BERNARD NACDONALD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 540,760 Sawyer June 11, 1895 753,764 Vanneman Mar. 1, 1904 812,451 Rice Feb. 13, 1906 1,154,385 Davis Sept. 21, 1915 1,213,831 Bottum Jan. 30, 1917 1,294,002 Weatherhead Feb. 11, 1919 1,450,245 Browne Apr. 3, 1923 1,967,383 Turgot July 24, 1934 2,325,956 Holtman Aug. 3, 1943 2,362,327 Lipton Nov. 7, 1944 2,484,102 Le Valley Oct; 11, 1949 

